Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service



|[pic] |FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |

| |February 13, 2015 |

| |N-30, 2014-15 |

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| |CITY ANNOUNCES SCHOOL CLIMATE REFORMS |

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| |Policy Changes Will Promote Safety and Dignity of All Students |

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| |Improved Policy to Continue Positive Trend of Declining Crime, Suspensions, Arrests and Summonses in City Schools |

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| |More than $5 Million Dedicated to Initiatives to Create Fairer, Safer, and More Supportive Schools for All Students |

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| |NEW YORK – Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña today announced a series of school climate and discipline reforms – developed in partnership with the |

| |NYPD and the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice – that will ensure the safety and dignity of New York City’s students, and hasten the decline of |

| |crime in our schools. In addition to the coordination and collaboration across City agencies, the work of the City Council, other elected |

| |officials, and community stakeholders has been invaluable in this revision of the discipline code and continued movement towards progressive |

| |disciplinary approaches. |

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| |Today’s announcement builds upon the de Blasio administration’s commitment to creating schools that fairly and safely set all young people up for |

| |success. Specifically, this administration is focused on reducing unnecessary suspensions, utilizing proven practices of preventative and |

| |supportive training for school staff to avoid punitive measures as often as possible and ensuring students are returning to the classroom prepared |

| |to learn. The new code is designed to address over-reliance on suspensions, puts into place measures to increase oversight and accountability, and |

| |seeks to eliminate disparities that have adversely affected African-American and special-education students, who have been four times more likely |

| |to be suspended than their peers. National research shows that a single suspension in high school lowers a student’s odds of graduating in four |

| |years by 46 percent, while students nationwide who are arrested during high school are twice as likely as their peers to drop out. |

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| |The school climate and discipline reforms announced today – which expand upon changes in recent years – are informed by strong evidence and deep |

| |local experience showing that suspensions and arrests of students can be reduced in a way that both leads to safer schools and protects the dignity|

| |and future of students. Implementing these reforms will support the continuation of the positive trend of declining reported crime in schools, |

| |which has decreased 24 percent over the last two years while suspensions, arrests, and summonses in schools simultaneously declined – 23 percent, |

| |55 percent, and 66 percent respectively. |

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| |“No parent should have to choose between a school that’s safe for their child and a school where every student is treated fairly,” said Mayor Bill |

| |de Blasio. “All our schools can and must be both. That’s why we are investing in the training and best practices needed to ensure that when |

| |problems arise, we fix them first and foremost inside our schools – not by sending a child home or calling 911 needlessly, hurting their education |

| |in the process. These changes will help make campuses safer, treat students of every background with dignity, and provide kids with the support |

| |they need to learn.” |

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| |“This is a critical step forward for our schools and our students,” said Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña. “Everyone knows that students learn best|

| |when they’re in a safe, supportive, and engaging environment, and these reforms will make that atmosphere a reality for students across New York |

| |City. Today’s changes will protect students from bullying and violence, and provide relief and a better school experience for students who need to |

| |be focused on their learning and not constantly worry about getting suspended for any minor incident.” |

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| |“The NYPD is proud of its work with Chancellor Fariña and the mayor to develop a smarter, fairer approach to school discipline,” said Police |

| |Commissioner William J. Bratton, “We are committed to the safety and educational opportunity of all young New Yorkers. The reforms and innovative |

| |initiatives announced today will bring us closer to that goal, and we look forward to continuing this work over the months to come.” |

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| |“We made school discipline a priority in the State of the City because we believed we must update our policies, and we look forward to working with|

| |our partners across government to make it happen. As we said in the speech, taking a student out of the classroom should be the last option,” said |

| |City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. |

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| |Specifically, the reforms will improve safety and school climates by: |

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| |Reducing ineffective suspensions and increasing accountability in the suspension process. Under the new code, principals will be required to seek |

| |authorization from the Office of Safety and Youth Development (OSYD) before suspending students for insubordination/defying unlawful authority |

| |(B21/A22). OSYD will consider how the student’s behavior disrupts the instructional process, as well as prior behavior incidents and prior |

| |interventions before making a decision. Superintendent’s suspensions for minor physical altercations (A24/B24) will be eliminated. Additionally, |

| |the Department will vigorously enforce an existing policy that requires principals to seek authorization from OSYD before suspending students in |

| |kindergarten through third grade. |

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| |Creating a formal mechanism to coordinate and evaluate the effectiveness of these reforms and make recommendations for improvement. The |

| |Administration has established a School Climate Leadership Team, composed of principals, parents, students and union representatives as well as |

| |representatives from the DOE, the NYPD, the Mayor’s Office, MOCJ, the City Council, and community groups. The members of the Leadership Team – |

| |which is being chaired by Vincent Schiraldi, Senior Advisor to the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, and DOE Chief of Staff Ursulina Ramirez – |

| |will report to the Mayor, Chancellor, NYPD Commissioner, and the public on the progress of the reforms in creating a climate at all New York City |

| |public schools that promotes student safety and dignity. Nationally respected researchers will partner with the Leadership Team on this important |

| |advisory work. The establishment of the Leadership Team reflects the City’s commitment to honest and thorough evaluation of the reforms, as well as|

| |its focus on ensuring these reforms have their intended positive results. The Leadership Team had its first meeting on Thursday, February 12. |

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| |Decreasing reliance on 911 calls to address behavioral issues ($1.45 million). The DOE will propose a new Chancellor’s Regulation designed to |

| |provide guidance to schools on how to safely de-escalate behavioral crises using school staff and resources and reduce inappropriate reliance on |

| |911 calls. Under the regulation, each school will develop a Crisis De-Escalation Plan that provides guidance to educators as to when they should |

| |call 911 for a child experiencing an emotional or behavioral event. These plans, developed by schools’ Crisis Intervention Teams, will include |

| |strategies for de-escalating behavioral crisis situations and discourage overuse of 911. The DOE will provide de-escalation training in Therapeutic|

| |Crisis Intervention for Schools to 1,500 staff members over three years at high-needs schools and improve data collection on Emergency Management |

| |Systems calls and transports. |

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| |DOE initiatives to reduce the need for suspensions and arrests and create fairer, safer, and more supportive schools for all of our students. These|

| |include: |

| |Restorative practices in schools ($1.2 million): Since this past July, the DOE has trained staff from 64 schools new to Restorative Approaches. |

| |City Council funding is supporting current work to continue this training, with a total of 100 schools new to Restorative Approaches receiving it |

| |by September. |

| |SAGA Innovations program ($432,000): Four schools have enrolled for the 2014-15 school year in the highly regarded SAGA Innovations Initiative, an |

| |algebra-based, intensive mentoring program to engage at-risk students that was shown to reduce violent crime and improve student achievement when |

| |utilized in Chicago. This program will be scaled up to include two additional sites covering six schools for the 2015-16 school year. |

| |Strategies to support court-involved students ($2.36 million):  In order to fulfill the Mayor’s commitment to improving educational planning for |

| |court-involved youth and educational re-engagement for placed and sentenced youth, the DOE will provide each student in detention with a DOE |

| |guidance counselor upon admission. These specialized counselors will provide counseling, transition planning, tracking, and support to |

| |students. The DOE will also make all schools in detention and placement facilities members of the DOE iZone. Students will have access to web-based|

| |courses, blended learning, and tablets, all of which will promote smooth transitions back to traditional schools. Students will also participate in|

| |a new web-based graduation planning system. |

| |Community Schools: The City’s Community Schools will meet school climate challenges and integrate positive school climate strategies. Given its |

| |emphasis on mental health supports and community building, the Community School approach will provide the types of services and programs that help |

| |address whole-school climate and culture. |

| |Parent Engagement: Increased parent engagement – including 40 minutes of one-on-one engagement time for teachers and families each Tuesday – |

| |represents a paradigm shift on the issue of school safety and discipline. School communities across the City have used this time productively, |

| |soliciting ideas from parents, scheduling parent-teacher home visits, and hosting other innovative and interactive activities. Educators and |

| |parents will have more regular opportunities to check in and review positive developments for each student, rather than only negative events, |

| |concerns, or crises. |

| |Learning Partners: The DOE will create a strand of its signature Learning Partners Program to build the capacity of six to ten schools that face |

| |safety and discipline challenges. The Learning Partners Program promotes inter-school collaborative learning by matching a host school with two |

| |partner schools to share strong practices. |

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| |Reforms around de-escalation, rebuilding trust, and strengthening cooperation between the NYPD, educators, parents and students. The Leadership |

| |Team will play an important, hands-on role in this work. The NYPD will make the following changes: |

| |Test a Warning Cards Project, replacing certain summonses with warnings: The NYPD will work with the DOE and the Leadership Team to establish a |

| |pilot program in five schools in the Bronx – and later increase to 25 schools citywide – that will replace summonses for student misconduct with |

| |warning cards. |

| |Improve restraint policies in schools: NYPD will begin tracking the use of restraints in schools and will provide a monthly report on any use to |

| |the Mayor’s Office. |

| |Further, NYPD will not restrain students under 12 with metal handcuffs in schools, except in situations where other methods of restraint have |

| |failed and NYPD officers, the public, or students are threatened by or facing bodily harm, or if doing so during arrest situations would improve |

| |public safety. |

| |The primary option in school facilities is for the NYPD to utilize verbal commands or the minimal level of physical control, and no restraining |

| |device will be utilized when alternatives are sufficient. |

| |To help support this policy change, NYPD officers will need the explicit prior approval of a supervisor to use metal restraints on a student under |

| |12, unless exigent circumstances prevent this. NYPD officers will also notify the principal or principal’s designee prior to the handcuffing, and |

| |the principal or principal’s designee will notify a parent/family member immediately. |

| |Children who are handcuffed will be supervised at all times and handcuffing students to other students or fixed objects will be banned. |

| |Expand training for SSAs and police officers assigned to the School Safety Division: All SSAs have already received a new three-day course in |

| |crisis intervention, and the training academy for SSAs has been extended by two weeks to ensure that they are appropriately trained in fair and |

| |non-discriminatory methods of conflict resolution. These trainings are being conducted in partnership with the DOE. |

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| |“Our mission is to guide our students to graduate and a new approach to school discipline will improve our students’ chances greatly,” said City |

| |Council Education Committee Chairperson Daniel Dromm. “Research shows that one suspension in high school reduces a student’s chance of graduating |

| |in four years by 46 percent and an arrest makes a student twice as likely to drop out. These odds are unacceptable. I look forward to working with |

| |Chancellor Carmen Fariña to ensure we eliminate unnecessary suspensions and put our focus on preventative and supportive training for staff.” |

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| |“It is my hope these reforms will go a long way in easing tensions with young adults,” said Gregory Floyd, President of Teamsters Local 237. “We |

| |are going to work closely with all stakeholders involved to reduce levels of violence in our schools.” |

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| |“I’m honored to be appointed by the Mayor to co-chair the Leadership Team, along with DOE’s Chief of Staff, Ursulina Ramirez,” said Vincent |

| |Schiraldi, Senior Advisor to the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. “This package of school climate reforms sends a powerful message that the |

| |Mayor believes we can treat kids with dignity and improve safety in our schools. I believe that the unprecedented collaboration reflected in the |

| |Leadership Team will serve to build on the Mayor’s, DOE’s and NYPD’s strong starting foundation in the coming year.” |

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| |“I applaud the Mayor's announcement of an initiative directed to reform of school climate and discipline,” said Judge Judith Kaye. “Our attention |

| |is critically needed on the shadow population, the overwhelmingly black and special needs children doomed at adolescence, if not at birth, to a |

| |life of escalating involvement in the justice system. We have for years been accumulating the data. Enough already. We know the problem. I am |

| |delighted that the Mayor is stepping forward to find and implement the solutions.” |

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| |“All New York City children deserve safe, secure and supportive schools,” said New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman. |

| |“For the de Blasio administration to acknowledge the problems in our schools and to establish a Leadership Team tasked with working collaboratively|

| |to develop common sense and humane discipline policies is a significant step in making that vision a reality.” |

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| |“We find that often, when a student gets into a lot of trouble at school, multiple City agencies and non-profit organizations become involved in |

| |one way or another,” said Advocates for Children Executive Director Kim Sweet. “In convening the Leadership Team, the de Blasio administration is |

| |making a commitment to maintaining safety while bringing down suspensions and arrests in schools.  We are happy to be part of this important |

| |effort.” |

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| |“I am very pleased with today’s school climate reforms,” said Priscilla Chan, principal of the Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies. “At the |

| |end of the day, it’s about the students and the learning that goes on in the classrooms, and these changes show that the Chancellor, the Mayor, and|

| |the NYPD get it. I’m particularly excited about the Restorative Practice Initiative and other initiatives that will provide our school critical |

| |tools for resolving conflicts effectively while helping to raise student achievement.” |

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| |“I’m pleased the Department has prioritized restorative justice as part of a focus on increased equity and inclusion. These reforms set a new tone |

| |for our New York City schools:  a tone of collaboration, mutual responsibility, and care for all students.  I’m looking forward to working with my |

| |School Leadership Team and school community to implement these changes and to make use of the additional resources provided by restorative and |

| |mental-health programs to continue to improve my students’ lives,” said Sarah Scrogin, principal of East Bronx Academy for the Future. |

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| |Proposed changes to the Discipline Code can be found online and will be discussed at public hearing scheduled for March 2 at the High School of |

| |Fashion Industries in Manhattan. The school climate reforms will be put in place starting in Spring 2015. |

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| |Contact: Chancellor’s Press Office (212) 374-5141 |

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